Interview about Riposo Coffee Set, winner of the A' Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Award 2020
The design of this service was inspired by two schools of the early 20th century the German Bauhaus and the Russian avant-garde. Strict straight geometry and well-thought-out functionality fully corresponds to the spirit of the manifestos of those times: "what is convenient is beautiful". At the same time following modern trends the designer combines two contrasting materials in this project. Classic white milk porcelain is complemented by bright lids made of cork. Functionality of the design is supported by simple, convenient handles and the overall usability of the form.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsThe Russian avant–garde is a truly powerful and significant art movement that has had a huge impact on the entire world of art and culture. The composition of simple lines and color spots creates an amazing tension of shapes, making the viewer feel all their energy. Combining this approach with the functionality of the Bauhaus highlights the rationality and inner energy of my Riposo project.
Contrast is one of my favorite visual language techniques for the new subjects I'm developing. The use of contrasting nuances and attention to accents allows you to more fully reveal the main material and emphasize its advantages. At the same time, it is important to maintain an excellent balance of details.
This shape of the handles is the result of a large number of ergonomic tests. While working on the project, we tested everything: the convenience of carrying, the pouring process, important features for left-handed and right-handed people, as well as the degree of heating of the handle when using hot drinks. All these tests are designed to ensure maximum user comfort and convenience.
In order to get the perfect shapes, when developing the design, several tasks had to be solved at once at the intersection of design, engineering, and technology. The optimal wall thickness and profile were selected, as well as experiments with the firing temperature curve to obtain better results.
The philosophy of deceleration addresses basic human needs: balance, balance, simplicity. After the postmodern era, inclusivity, combination, harmony, and sincerity became important to us. We began to appreciate comfortable things with a simple, though not primitive form, but at the same time with a strong personal connection. That is why working with textures and tactility of objects has become so relevant in modern design.
In this project, first of all, I wanted to highlight graphically the individual elements of the form in order to make them more visible and expressive. Therefore, the first sketches of the service were drawn with porcelain lids with black glaze, which gave them an elegant and stylish look. However, in the process of design search, it turned out to take a step beyond the boundaries of habitual thinking and choose a unique material that stands out not only externally, but also in structure, tactility and physical properties, thereby opening up new horizons for a creative approach to design.
Of course, good objects are obtained on the basis of harmonious proportions from the golden ratio series. At the same time, a good education and a lot of viewing allows you to create such forms more naturally.
It is extremely necessary for a designer to have experience working with a variety of materials and be able to feel them subtly. Therefore, the experience of working at a porcelain factory helped me to move confidently in this project. Understanding the material allows, on the one hand, to limit oneself to technological solutions, and on the other hand, to maximize the beauty of the material.
Working with porcelain is a fascinating process that is fraught with many nuances. The apparent simplicity of the lines hides the amazing complexity and capriciousness of this material. However, true connoisseurs of porcelain are able to see how such a seemingly uncomplicated geometry hides painstaking work aimed at creating the perfect shape.
If we talk about the Riposo set, it is an example of an eco–friendly design made of monomaterials. The use of a cork lid as the main graphic technique made it possible to abandon the classic methods of decoration – decals and underglaze painting. This reduced the amount of harmful materials, and also reduced the number of kilns in the furnace, that is, it reduced the carbon footprint. In addition, cork is a natural and eco-friendly material that can be recycled.
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